Trade turnover between the two countries did not met expectations so far, but there were possibilities to step up cooperation

MOSCOW, September 02./ITAR-TASS/. Tunisia is ready to supply products to Russia to replace imports from Europe, including olive oil, Tunisian Foreign Minister Mongi Hamdi said on Tuesday.

“We are ready to supply many goods that Russia does not receive from Europe now,” he said.

Tunisia is ready to export olive oil, he said, adding that olive oil from the EU was of worse quality.

The minister said they wanted to work without intermediaries.

Trade turnover between the two countries did not met expectations so far, but there were possibilities to step up cooperation, he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov when meeting with his Tunisian counterpart on Tuesday said Tunisia could set a development example for countries that had Arab Spring revolutions.

Contacts developed well after his visit to Tunisia in March this year, he added. Important documents were signed when the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation met in Tunisia in May.

Hamdi said it was his first visit to Russia, but he knew Lavrov for a long time. They together worked in New York. “I hope we will continue working to develop relations,” he added.

Approaches of Russia and Tunisia to international and regional affairs are close or coincide, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Russia and Tunisia advocate compliance with fundamental international law principles, the UN Charter, the right of peoples to decide their fate independently without interference from outside and diplomatic settlement of disputes, Lavrov said.

Russia and Tunisia have agreed to fight the threat of international terrorism by united efforts. The two countries are aimed at fighting terrorism consistently without double standards, the Russian minister said.